Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1

Johannes Brahms (Composer), Simon Rattle (Conductor), Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Krystian Zimerman (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Krystian Zimerman
• Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Simon Rattle
• Composer: Johannes Brahms
• Audio CD (April 4, 2006)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B0007IK4L0
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,354 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Brahms’ First Piano Concerto is an early work bristling with energy and ambition. This is a concerto of scope, complexity, and expressive power and the best performances capture some of its tragic grandeur and forceful intensity. Those qualities are found in abundance in rival versions by Fleisher-Szell, Curzon-Szell, and Gilels-Jochum, among other worthy interpretations. Alongside those, this one pales, but the artists’ many fans will want to hear for themselves how a distinguished Brahmsian like Zimerman and an equally distinguished accompanist like Rattle see this work. They will be rewarded by a thoughtful performance that veers stylistically between a classical reading and a Romantic one. This approach that has some validity if joined to rhythmic alertness and fiery music-making. But Rattle’s tendency to clip phrase endings and make frequent tempo adjustments drains tension, while Zimerman tends to eschew legato and slights more-idiomatic, longer-lined phrasing. The Andante suffers more than the outer movements in this regard; only intermittently do the performers approach Brahms’ core, while those mentioned above play with the full-bodied tone and passion this great concerto demands. -- Dan Davis

Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Classical Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 4-APR-2006

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars * * 1/2 Zimerman overthunk this recording, July 28, 2007

By 

John Grabowski (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Audio CD)

The first problem with this performance manifests itself in the third bar of the piano entrance: Zimerman preciously slooows down the last phrase of his opening. While rubato is common, of course, this stress point comes at the very beginning, and to my ears it's not yet *earned.* Nothing's happened yet, but already Zimerman is highlighting the "drama." What drama? It's as though a character enters the first scene of a play already comes on stage chewing the scenery. And that in a nutshell describes what's wrong with this performance. The drama feels forced, studied. Beautifully-played, with some fine moments (the beginning of the development in the first movement, the extremely warm, almost prayerful sound of the orchestra in the adagio just before Zimerman starts banging away ham-fisted with his return), this is still not a very remarkable performance, especially when it swims in a sea with the likes of Gilels/Jochum, Kovacevich/Davis, and Curzon/Boult.

But both Rattle and especially Zimerman peel the layers of the onion a bit too much, instead of living the music and bringing things to a simmer and then a boil. And baby, does this work ever need to boil. But the performers are too busy counting granules of spice rather than stirring the pot and savoring the dish. There's a little too much lin-ger-ing, too many instances of de-li-ber-ate phra-sing. And there are times, such as the counter theme of the first movement, where Rattle tries to slow things down so much that we seem to get into a timeless, tempoless place, a Furtwanglerian spirituality--except that he can't pull it off like Furtwangler could. The result sags rather than induces reveries. Someone else here said this is a more lyrical and subdued PC1. Except, other conductors have pulled off this type of idea better.

In the liner notes Zimerman states that he listened to 80 recordings of the concerto before embarking on this project. (I didn't know there were that many, unless he also has private performances in his collection.) Maybe that's the problem. Sometimes it's best to think less and feel more. The three stars are mainly for superb orchestral playing from the Berliners and isolated sparking moments. With so many great recordings of this on my shelf, however, it remains to be seen if this one will stay there. [Post Script months later: it hasn't.] I really feel bad giving 2 1/2 stars to one of the greatest pianists playing with one of the greatest conductors and one of the greatest orchestras in a work all of them seem born to play, but that's about all the enthusiasm I can muster. The recent Nelson Freire/Riccardo Chailly/Gewandhaus Orchestra recording on Decca, free-spirited with lots of give-and-take, blows this out of the water--in large part because they were *playing* while Zimmie and Rattle were thinking.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 to Vie with the Best, May 16, 2006

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Audio CD)

In this very fine new release the great numbers of fine recordings of the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 have stiff competition! Though doubtless we each have our 'favorite' recording of this mighty piece, take note that this is one performance that should be added to everyone's library.

Krystian Zimerman plays like a man possessed - not demonically, though he does know how to plumb those depths, but as a pianist who innately understands the grand architecture of this work. He produces more sound from the piano than is reasonably possible and yet in the lyrical second movement he literally reduces his tone to a whisper. His technique and his interpretation are wondrous.

Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Berlin Philharmonic with not only a romantic fervor but also a keen ear for communication with the soloist. Not knowing how many times these two fine artists have collaborated, it would seem that they have performed this work frequently to gain such a unified approach.

The acoustic of the recording is excellent technically, giving all the more reason to applaud this very superb new recording. Recommended without hesitation. Grady Harp, May 06

21 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Instant Definitive Recording!, April 5, 2006

By 

C. Escamilla "MusiCraig" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Audio CD)

I had extremely high expectations for this recording considering the fine quality of Zimerman's playing and the new level to which Sir Simon has taken the BPO in the last few recordings he released with the group(Debussy, Dvorak, Schubert, Strauss). However, no matter how high my expectations were, this recording far exceeded them. I was blown away by the vehement intensity of the first movement. The power with which Zimerman plays perfectly matches that of the greatest orchestra in the world. However, never lacking in gentle lyricism, Zimerman plays the second movement with a grace the like of the controversial Curzon/Szell recording. Zimerman's trills in the cadenza of this movement gave me chills, and the intensity in the recap of the A section from him, and the low strings of the orchestra, is unparalleled. The third movement has all of the emotional quality necessary, and the clarity of Bach's 48(after which Brahms modeled this movement's contrpunctal theme). It made me wish Zimerman had some Bach recordings, and maybe he will someday. Rattle's clarity of line, and the warm, rich, and deep sound he got from the orchestra were fresh and alive and seemed to say to his critics that he has finally found his "sound" with the BPO. This recording is an instant classic and should be on everyone's shelf!